Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and Spear
by VigilanteSpectre
Summary: After investigating a suspicious forest, Aang, Sokka, and Katara find a tribe of hunters, whose skill and britality is unmatched by all warriors, and whose gods are truly not of this earth. One of the Hunters joins the Gaang, and becomes a great ally.
1. Rumors

The Gaang had finally stopped for a break.

They had landed next to a small stream to gather water, for both drinking and bending purposes. That, and Appa was in need of a good bath.

"This is ridiculous," Sokka mumbled to himself. "You bathed him three days ago! He'll be fine for another week, or…six…"

"Why do you hate bathing Appa so much?" Aang asked, somewhat puzzled at Sokka's sudden irratibility.

"Because, it takes so long, and there's hair everywhere, and I always end up getting soaking wet and nearly drounded by your guy's silly magic splashing, and-"

"I told you, it's not magic, it's waterbending." Katara said, getting annoyed with Sokka's complaining. "Besides, you have no room to complain. Sometimes you go off to take a bath, and your gone for _hours_!" She said, exasperated. "What are you doing down there, anyway?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, not in front of the kid!" he quickly said, glancing at a very confused looking Aang. "And no, I do not do that. I simply have very good hygiene." He stated, matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, not good enough…" Katara said, and mockingly plugged her nose with her fingers, getting a laugh from Aang and a glare from Sokka.

"Ha! You're hilarious! And you know what? Just for that, I'm not helping you bathe Appa!" he said with a gleeful smirk.

Aang replied, "That's ok, you can't bend, so me and Katara can get it done more quickly without you."

"Thanks Aang, I appreciate it." Sokka said sarcastically. He shook his head when Aang shouted a welcome back in reply.

He turned around and grabbed his pack. "I saw a town on the other side of these trees, I'm gonna head over there to buy some supplies." Sokka told the two benders.

"Okay, don't take too long, o king of hygene!" Katara shouted in reply, and she and Aang fell apart with laughter."

Sokka shook his head and want on his way to the town. "Damn waterbenders." He mumbled to himself.

Aang and Katara had just finished drying Appa when they saw Sokka returning from his shopping trip.

"Find anything interesting?" Aang asked as he ran up to him.

"You could say that." Sokka said, deep in thought.

"Well, what is it?" the avatar asked as he fed Momo a leche nut.

"Yeah, you mind showing us?" Katara said while she rifled through Sokka's pack.

"It isn't an item, it's something I heard." Sokka said, irritated with all of the questions.

"Okay, so, what did you hear?" Katara asked, wanting him to get to the point.

"As I was paying for the supplies, the clerk asked me where I was traveling. I just told him I was heading up north, to get away from the war." He explained. "Then, he warned about something, rather, _somewhere_ we should beware of on our journey up there."

"What is it?" Aang wondered in anticipation.

"The clerk said that beyond those mountains," he motioned toward the peaks to the north, "there is a dense forest." Sokka remembered what the shopkeeper had said." The locals call it 'the forest of demons'."

"Why is it called that?" Katara inquired.

"He said that the place is haunted by evil spirits. He called them 'yautja'."

"What does that mean?"

Sokka leaned in and, for some reason, quietly whispered the translation to his sister and the avatar:"He who hunts men as trophies."

At his answer, Katara and Aang felt chills run down their spines.

"He who hunts men as trophies… " Katara recited. "Why would anyone name something a name so horrible?"

"I'm not sure," her brother answered, "but he told me something even more interesting. He said that a few months ago, a small army of fire nation troops came through the town. They said they were going to investigate the forest, and they left a small garrison of about three dozen men there to provide security." Sokka paused, for dramatic effect, and to catch his breath. "The rest of the army left for the forest, saying they would return in two days. They never came back."

"What about the garrison?" Aang asked. "What did they do about their missing army?"

"Hold on, I was just getting to that. Anyway, the entire garrison left after about three days to find the rest of the army. They never came back either."

Aang and Katara exchanged nervous glances. "Wow, that's some story." The airbender said with a little nervous laughter.

"Yeah, kinda creepy too." Katara agreed, looking out over the mountains. "What if it's true?" she thought to herself. "What if there are some kinds of evil, man hunting spirits in that forest?"

She shuddered at the thought. "Great, I'm going to have nightmares for a week."

"Yeah, I thought it was a pretty cool story." Sokka said, yawning and stretching. "Well, if you guys are done washing Appa, we should go ahead and get out of here. Bad to stay in one place for too long with the fire nation on your ass."

"Good idea, but before we go too far…" Aang said, climbing on top of Appa, "I'd like to check out that forest of demons."

Katara turned around, startled by the avatar's suggestion. "Why would you want to do that?"

"I don't know, I just think that anything that significant seems worth investigating. Besides, I'm the avatar, and I'm pretty sure it's my duty."

Sokka stared at him open mouthed. "Are you nuts!" he shouted. "Were you not listening to the story? An entire army of fire nation soldiers disappeared in there! The three of us probably won't last five seconds!"

"For once, Sokka's right." Katara told Aang. "We have no business going there and putting ourselves in unnecessary danger. Besides, we have more important things to do. We still need to get to the North Pole so we can master waterbending."

"Yeah, and if you go get yourself killed over a stupid hunch, the entire world is baptized by fire!"

Aang thought about it for a second." What if these 'demons' can be negotiated with? I am good at talking to people. Maybe they would join our side if I just-"

"You can't negotiate with demons, genius!" Sokka exclaimed.

"They're probably not demons!" Aang argued. "The only reason people are suspicious about this forest is because no one has ever seen who or what they are that live there!"

Sokka and Katara looked at each other worriedly.

"Come on, you guys!" Aang urged on." I stopped a rampaging spirit from destroying a town! I am destined to defeat the firelord and bring peace after a hundred years of war! There is nothing to be worried about!"

Katara sighed" Well, I can see that we can't change your mind. I guess we can take a look."

Aang whooped in celebration, and jumped atop Appa."Alright buddy, let's go make nice with some man-hunting demons! YIP-YIP!"

"Great." Sokka thought. "We're all gonna die."


	2. Cold Blooded

The trio had quickly packed up, and was already flying over the mountains by the time Aang caught a glimpse of the forest. He looked over the canopy of trees with nervous anticipation. "What if Sokka and Katara were right? What if these demons, or whatever they were, couldn't be reasoned with? What if I get myself and them killed, and the world is consumed by the Fire Nation?"

His thoughts were interrupted by Sokka tapping on his shoulder, causing the airbender to jump in surprise.

Sokka didn't seem to notice that he had scared him. "There's a clearing right down there." he said, his finger pointing towards a small opening in the trees. "We should be able to land down there without being seen by anyone-or _anything." _

Aang just nodded his head and headed Appa in the direction of the opening in the canopy of trees. "I hope you're right about this." The young water tribe warrior said to the avatar.

"Yeah, so do I." he murmured to himself.

As Appa landed, Sokka jumped off, boomerang drawn for any sign of danger.

After closely scanning the surrounding woods with his eyes, and deciding the area was secure, he called the all-clear to the other two members of his group.

While Katara and Sokka gathered the supplies from Appa's saddle, Aang was busy trying to comfort the furry white bison, which, ever since they had flown over the forest, had been on edge.

"It's alright buddy, we'll be fine. You don't even have to be in the forest with us. I'll blow my whistle when we need to be picked up. Everything will be fine." The avatar said a comforting smile on his face.

Appa nudged him with his nose, indicating that it was not himself that he was afraid for, it was Aang.

Aang rubbed his nose soothingly. He understood why it was hard for the bison to leave his side. When he was a pup, he had chosen Aang as his keeper for life. They were destined to stay that way for their entire lives. Appa couldn't just leave him in these god-forsaken woods.

The airbender looked the bison in the eyes. "Appa, if I knew there was a risk, any danger at all, I wouldn't have come here. And I would not be going without you right now." The Avatar continued comforting the majestic beast. "And besides, we'll only be gone for a couple of hours at the most."

Appa finally relaxed, and started to take off.

Aang smiled at him. "I'll whistle for you in case we encounter trouble." He yelled as the bison flew away.

"Let's hope I don't have to…" Aang said to himself, and the trio set off into the demon's forest.

The forest was warm and humid, and after wandering for about an hour, the group stopped for a quick breather.

"Not a very evil forest…" Katara pointed out. "We haven't seen anything alarming yet, and at this rate…"

She was interrupted by a shrill shriek. Looking up, the group saw that it was only a buzzard. They watched it as it flew up and joined a much bigger group of the scavengers.

"That's a lot of vultures." Sokka observed. "Something big must've died over there."

"Yeah, or maybe a lot of different dead things." Aang pointed out. "Maybe we should go see what has their attention."

"Good idea." Sokka replied and the group quickly went to the vultures 'area of special interest.

"Could it really be him?" The hunter pondered. The children had not seen him in the tree above them. Then again, no one could have, thanks to his gift from the hunters of the sky. Just one of many items that made him such an unstoppable, frightening warrior.

But for now, he wondered about the boy with the arrow tattoos. If he was who he thought he was, than the solution to his clan's 'problem' had been found.

Until he knew, however, he would stay invisible, and follow the trio, with hope that he was right.

The children were almost to the spot where the scavenging birds were circling, when they came to another clearing. This one however, was… much more troubling.

The tress had been badly burned. There were no small shrubs or weeds anywhere on the ground. No birds sang. It was a truly bleak spot.

"The Fire Nation!" Sokka exclaimed, becoming very angry. "Those heartless bastards! How could they-"

"Hold on, Sokka." Aang said calmly. Something was odd about the way the trees were burned.  
"Look at the burn patterns on the trees." He told Sokka. "Firebender blasts are usually very controlled, very accurate. These are random, scattered. Almost as if-"

Sokka finished his sentence for him, with a wide eyed expression," As if they couldn't see what they were fighting."

Aang nodded, suddenly felling somewhat afraid. "Just what were these firebenders fighting?" he wondered to himself.

He took a step backward, when his foot came down on something solid. Looking down, he saw that it was the blade of a Fire Nation Soldier's spear. Looking around some more, he saw remains of battle everywhere, from weapons to little bits of armor.

"This must've been some fight." Sokka stated. "Looks like the Fire Nation got their asses kicked." He continued thinking, amused at the enemy's obvious defeat, as he picked up a soldier's helmet. The helmet had a large hole in it, as of something blasted through it. "Strange," he thought," What could've done this?"

His thoughts were interrupted by a scream that filled the air.

"Katara!" they exclaimed, and rushed to find her. She had continued after the buzzards while he and Aang were investigating the battle scene.

The two men found Katara staring up into a large tree. Aang had his staff at the ready, and Sokka was poised with his boomerang.

"Katara, are you alright? What's wrong?" Aang asked. Her eyes were wide with terror, her face was pale, and she was trembling like an earthquake.

"Katara?" he inquired again, and this time he followed her gaze into the tree.

And what he saw would be an image that would plague his mind for the rest of his life.

"By the spirits…" he choked out in a terrified whisper. "What evil being could have done this?"

And the trio stared at the four, skinless, headless bodies that hung upside-down from the tall tree.

Sokka became nauseated, and went and vomited behind a tree. Aang put a hand on Katara's shoulder, to try and snap her out of her trance. She jumped, startled, but then quickly buried her face in his shoulder, crying lightly.

"Oh Aang…" she sobbed, horrified at the gruesome image of the skinned bodies in the trees. " What heartless monster could have done this?"

"I…I don't know." He answered. Not even the fire nation deserved a fate like this.

The Hunter followed them to the battle site, and to the bodies.

"These are only a few," the hunter thought to himself. "There are many more bodies scattered throughout their hunting grounds."

He then heard tell the other two members of his group: a weak-stomached teen with a topknot and a frightened girl- that they were leaving the forest, he realized that there was only one way to find out if the boy was really the avatar. He uncloaked, extended his double-bladed spear, and jumped to the ground.

Just as the group decided that getting skinned alive wasn't worth the risk, and that they were leaving the forest, Sokka heard a noise behind him. He turned to see what it was, and immediately drew his boomerang.

"Who are you?" he questioned the being aggressively, ready to fight.

The being was tall, around six and a half feet, and had long dreadlocks down to his shoulders. He wore a mask, and had armor plating on his shoulders, arms, and legs.

But the thing that had the group's attention was the double bladed spear, a dangerous looking weapon that they really wanted to avoid contact with.

Just as Sokka was about to question him again, the being raised his spear and let out a bloodcurdling roar. Then, he lowered his spear, looked directly at the group, and charged.


	3. The Eye Of The Demon

As the hostile figure charged, Sokka reacted on instinct and threw his boomerang at it. This had no effect, as the being spun around to avoid its blades, and kept coming straight for them.

Sokka decided it was time to for himself to take direct action, and drew his own crescent-shaped blade, and charged ran head-on at their new enemy.

When Sokka got to him, he was about to bring his blade on his foe when the being, with unprecedented speed and agility, grabbed his arm to stop his weapon, and kicked him hard in the chest, an impact hard enough to send him stumbling into a cluster of bushes.

The brief engagement with the water tribe boy was just enough of a distraction that the hunter didn't see the long globule of water flying towards him until it was too late, and it smacked him hard in the chest plate. His armor took the brunt of the impact, but it was enough of an impact to cause him to stumble backwards from the momentum.

Katara had been practicing with her water whips, and she was getting pretty damn _good_. She struck again, but the warrior was prepared this time, and used his spear to cut through the water, cutting her connection and causing it to spill onto the ground.

The hunter started to move to dispatch the waterbending girl, when a loud voice shouted, "Enough!" and the hunter was hit by an invisible gust of air that sent him flying backwards into a tree.

Aang had had enough of fighting this creature. He wanted answers, and he wanted them _now_.

He ran forward, leveled his staff at the figure, and questioned him loudly.

"Who are you, and why did you attack us?"

The being stayed silent.

"Answer Me! NOW!" Aang shouted and readied for another strike, when the warrior finally spoke.

"Peace, Avatar. I wish you and your friends no harm." It said, in surprisingly well spoken English.

Aang raised an eyebrow. He had expected something more …foreign, or unintelligent sounding.

"If you didn't wish to harm us, why did you attack us?" asked a half-angry, half-curious Katara.

"Because…" replied the being, "It was the only way to find out if he was the Avatar. He is, after all, the last airbender."

Something seemed suspicious about what the being was saying, and Aang realized it was because of its mask. With its mask, it could conceal its emotions, as well as who… or _what,_ its identity was.

"Take off your mask." The Avatar commanded.

The being sat and looked at him.

"I command you to show me your face!" He ordered, adding a bit of volume and demand to his voice.

The being nodded. "Very well." It said, as it reached up to remove its mask. Katara readied with a water whip, in case it tried anything offensive.

The warrior removed its mask, and Aang and Katara gasped in surprise.

The warrior… was a perfectly normal _human being!_

The man smiled and chuckled slightly. "Surprised?" he asked, with a light, friendly tone of voice.

The man was tall, and very muscular. His body had many scars, from what looked like everything from claws and teeth to swords and spears.

Upon inspecting his face and voice, they realized that he was very young, older than them, but only by a few years, tops.

I don't understand…" Katara started, "how-?" she stopped when she heard a groan from the bushes.

She gasped. "Sokka!" she exclaimed, as she ran toward her brother.

"Don't worry." The hunter reassured Katara. "Your brother is fine. I didn't hit him hard enough to cause any permanent damage."

"Getting back on subject…" the avatar turned to face the mysterious warrior."How can I trust you to the fact that you indeed were not trying to kill us?"

The warrior slowly approached the avatar, and his expression grew grim.

"Because," the warrior said as he leaned closer to Aang, his voice dark and threatening. _"Because if I really wanted to kill you, your bodies would be hanging alongside the bodies of those Fire Nation worms!"_

"So it was you that did that to those men!" Sokka was up on his feet again, and had become a part of the conversation. "How could you do something so monstrous to the soldiers?"

"It's part of my culture." The hunter answered simply.

"What kind of sick culture does that to people?" Katara questioned angrily. "Even Fire Nation soldiers don't deserve that kind of death! It's disgusting, cold, inhumane, terrible-"

The hunter interrupted her, annoyed by her ignorant judgment. "Do not pass judgment on what you know nothing about." He warned, eyes narrowed.

"But why would your kind skin and behead people, when death alone is punishment enough?" Aang asked, almost not wanting to know the answer. But, as avatar, it was his duty to know all he could learn about the many cultures of the world.

A slight smile crept onto the dreadlock-maned murderer. "If you wish to know about my culture, and its people, maybe you should see them firsthand." He stepped aside, his hand motioning into the deep woods.

Aang, while curious to learn about his way of life, was still threatened by the vicious warrior. After all, his invitation could very well be a trap.

Almost as if he read his mind, the hunter knelt down to look Aang in the eyes. "Avatar," he began, his voice strong, but yielding, "I swear on my life that no harm shall come to you should you venture with me, and once we reach my village, you and your friends shall be welcomed as honored guests."

Aang looked at his friends. Sokka, who knew that being an honored guest meant food, and that he could never say no to, so he gave Aang the 'let's give it a shot' look.

Katara, on the other hand, still did not trust this person at all, and looked at Aang with a nervous glance.

But in the end, it was the avatar's decision.

He looked at the hunter, and nodded his head. "Very well, we shall follow you to your village. But I expect you to hold up your promise."

The hunter nodded, with a sincere look on his face. He then turned around, and motioned for the trio to follow him.


	4. Hunter's Home

The Gaang followed the hunter through the forest, watching him cautiously. They weren't entirely sure of his intentions, and had to be ready to defend themselves if things all-of-a-sudden went awry.

But Aang had the feeling that the warrior meant them no harm. He had, after all, vowed that no harm would come to them. And something about this man seemed very…_honorable_. To lie to the Avatar was very dishonorable, much less attack him when he least expects it.

Besides, he's supposed to end a hundred years of pain and suffering. The noble thing would be to let him be.

"Yeah, tell that to the Fire Nation," Aang thought to himself.

As he thought, he watched the hunter get farther away from them, due that that he was moving through the dense forest with impressive agility, and Aang had to use a little bit of his airbending to catch up with him.

"So," he started, "I kinda think we started off on the wrong foot, with you attacking us and all,"

The hunter continued looking straight ahead, but had slowed down to show that he was listening.

Aang continued, "Anyway, I thought I'd introduce myself. I'm Aang, and as you probably already know, I'm the Avatar. And these are-"he stopped and turned, and then realized that they needed to catch up with their quick pace.

The hunter stopped and waited as well, somewhat amused with the Avatar and his friends. They were friendly, and childish, at times. But each of them had the heart and courage of a lionturtle. He admired them for it.

When the other two members of the group caught up, the avatar continued with his introduction. "And these are my friends; Sokka and Katara. They're from the Southern Water Tribe." The two smiled slightly and politely bowed, still unsure of their new acquaintance.

The warrior, who still had his mask off, smiled and said, "It's an honor to meet you, Avatar Aang." He bowed his head low, to show his respect. "As well as you two, Sokka and Katara, of the Southern Water Tribe. I am Jyun, son of Kylo,of the yautja clan ."

Sokka remembered the the word, _yautja_, from the clerk in the town.

"So, you're not really demons," Sokka figured, "so how'd you get the name?"

"Being called yautja is a great compliment," Jyun stated, walking on, " but also a gross overstatement. Don't get me wrong, my tribe is made up of fierce warriors, perhaps the most skilled on the planet. But we pale in comparison to those who the name really belongs to."

"So who does it go to? Demons?" Katara asked, eyebrow raised.

A sly smile crept over Jyun's face. "They have been called that many times in the past, by those they hunted. But no, they are not really demons." Jyun paused. "But they certainly aren't from around here, if that's what you mean."

A thought occurred to Aang, about a question that had been bugging him for a while. "Are you the one who skinned those Fire Benders?"

Jyun answered simply "Not me personally, but some other members of my tribe did."

Aang stepped in front of the yautja warrior, a serious look on his face. "Why?" he asked aggressively.

"Patience, Avatar," Jyun cautioned, hand in the air in front of him. "All of your questions will be answered once we reach the village." And he continued on without another word.

The walk went silently after that, Aang trying to reason why the yautja would do such a thing, Katara trying to decide if Jyun was trustworthy, and Sokka wondering what kind of fine meats the yautja had at their village.

Their thoughts were interrupted as Jyun spoke. "Here we are. Welcome to my humble abode."

The trio looked past the hunter, and was somewhat surprised at what they saw.

Here, hidden in these dense woods, was a rather large, bustling society. Women cooked around large fires, older men sat and talked, with serious expressions on their faces, and others were busy laughing with friends or doing something else productive.

It quickly became apparent though, that the clan was heavily focused on combat.

As they watched, groups of small children, no older than perhaps six or seven, fought hand to hand, and were supervised and instructed by adults. The grown men, however, sparred with spears and knives in heated duels. And when one of them drew blood from the other, instead of retaliating and being angry, the opponent would look at his wound and compliment their adversary on the good strike.

And many others, still, either were spectators for the duels or where cleaning suits of armor and sharpening blades.

The group looked on with wonder, until Jyun snapped them out of their trance and led them through the village.

As they walked through the community, they got the feeling of eyes being directed at them. This was because as they walked, they attracted more and more eyes of the yautja. Most looked with surprised looks on their faces, others with looks of happiness, and a few even with hostile glares.

"_They must know who I am_," Aang thought. "_Or I wouldn't be attracting this much attention_."

As they continued through the village, a loud voice called Jyun's name. Jyun turned to see who it was, and a broad smile crossed his face.

"Ryku'te!" The hunter called back, and rushed to greet his friend. The two grasped each other's forearms, and started conversing, but stopped when Ryku'te saw the Avatar and his friends.

"I see your patrol went well," he said nodding at the trio.

"Yes, fruitful indeed." Jyun replied, and introduced the newcomers to his friend.

After introductions were made, Jyun looked back to his friend. "Where is Nakita?"

Ryku'te nodded in the direction of a gathering crowd. "Kicking ass in the pits again. She fought twelve men today, including Yusuke and Tichinde at the same time. She hasn't lost yet, and I don't think she ever will."

Jyun smiled and nodded in agreement. "Of course not, and they are fools for challenging her. She's one of the greatest warriors this tribe has ever seen. She's possibly even better than me." He finished with a chuckle. And then he led them over to the crowd to see what was going on.

The crowd quickly parted for the group, and they could see the action quite clearly from where they stood.

They watched as a woman, dressed just like the male warriors, squared off against a large, muscular man, who was at least two feet taller than her.

Sokka chimed in, somewhat fearful for the woman in the dueling ring. "There's no way she can win! She's gonna get pulverized by that huge guy!"

Jyun had a different opinion, though. "No, he'll be lucky to crawl out of that ring when she's done with him." And he watched, seemingly mesmerized by the battle going on in front of him.

The man and the woman stared at each other, challenging looks on their faces as they circled one another. They wore the same hairstyles, dreadlocks, as did seemingly everyome in the village. They pored over each other, searching for a weakness, any good opportunity to strike.

The large man grew impatient man charged, fists raised like a club.

But the woman was fast. She sidestepped, dodging the swing and kicked the giant hard in the right side.

The male stumbled slightly, surprised by the quick blow.

The woman looked at him challengingly. "Come at me, you insolent cow!" she urged. "Is that a salami stuffed in that codpiece? I am a woman, and I already more man than you!"

The man's eyes grew wide with rage, and he howled at her as he charged.

The woman, calm as ever, sidestepped slightly to the left, and exploited the fact that he was being entire offensive, and not defending himself at all.

She raised her knee, then extended her foot to kick the man hard in the groin.

The crowd ooed and awed at the pain inflicted on the man who was now stumbling backward, and looked as if he were about to cry.

"_Wouldn't blame him_." Sokka thought, feeling a bit of pain himself just from seeing the impact. He looked at Aang, who shared his uncomfortable expression. He then glanced at Jyun, who was cheering the woman on.

"Bring him down, Nakita! Show that overgrow shithead how real warriors fight!"

And at that, she readied for the final blow.

She reared back then ran; full on at the slowly recovering giant.

Then, three-quarters of the distance to him, she jumped, and, with a grace that could only ever be matched by an Airbender, spun and kicked the man herd in the right temple.

The giant's head snapped sideways, and he fell to the ground in a heap. The fight was over.

Nakita, a woman, had just brought down the largest, most muscular guy any of them had ever seen.

And she hadn't even been touched.

The trio gaped, especially Sokka.

Back on Kyoshi Island, he had been taught by Suki and the other warriors, who were all females that women could fight just as good- and in his case, sometimes better- than men. He was no longer condescending toward the opposite sex.

But this, seeing a woman, even if she was well trained, bring down a man twice her size, come out without a scratch, and make it look like she was fighting a toddler…

No, Sokka didn't judge women anymore. As a matter of fact, he was starting to get scared of them.

Jyun howled with the other warriors in cheer. Nakita had claimed pure win, and had done so in an exceptional fashion.

As she accepted congratulations of victory from the other yautja, Jyun stepped forward to greet his woman.

As soon as Nakita caught sight of him, her smile widened greatly,

"Jyun!" she exclaimed, and leapt to embrace him.

Katara watched as the woman, whose name she had learned was Nakita, chaned from a cold, skilled warrior, to a lovely, man-crazed girl at the sight of Jyun.

Nakita had jumped at Jyun, who caught her and spun her around a few times. He then set her down and looked at her face, and into her dark green eyes, almost getting lost in them.

He then pulled her in and kissed her, a long and passionate kiss that left both having to stop to catch a breath.

The trio looked around, feeling awkward for witnessing a romantic moment between a person the hardly knew and his warior-lover.

Aang felt his eyes fall on Katara, on her lush, soft brown skin, on her deep blue eyes.

He had had a crush on the water tribe girl ever since they freed him the iceberg. And every day since then his feelings for her had gotten stronger.

_Maybe someday_-

His thoughts were interrupted as Jyun spoke.

"Nakita," he said, after catching his breath. "I'd like you to meet The Avatar."

Aang bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Aang."

Nakita bowed in return. "And it's an honor to meet you, Avatar Aang. A well as your friends."

As Nakita bowed to them, Sokka couldn't help but notice her slender, muscular body. She wore a sash around her chest, revealins muscular biceps and a tight abdomen. She also wore a small dress that was open in the front but came down to the back of her knees in the rear.

"Wow," Sokka thought, "Jyun's a really lucky guy…"

The mention of food brought Sokka's attention back to the conversation.

"I hope you guys are hungry," Nakita began. "Because the chieftain is throwing one helluva feast."

Sokka could smell the food cooking, and his mouth flooded with saliva and his stomach rumbled like thunder.

"Lar'nix'va and his group killed a full grown boarqupine bull, and-"

Katara stopped her short. "Did you say a full grown male boarqupine? That's impossible! How'd they kill it?"

Nakita blinked. "Up close, with spears of course."

Sokka's mouth hung open. "You guys are insane! How could anyone-"

Nakita cut him off, somewhat annoyed. "First off, they did it with spears because none of his men are of high enough honor to use an energy caster, and besides, that would remove too much of the meat. And secondly, and more importantly, we are not insane." She snarled, and inched her face close to Sokka's.

"We're just the greatest warriors this planet has, and will ever see."

She then turned and swiftly walked toward the center of the village.

Jyun sighed. "You'll have to forgive my Nakita, she gets angry when people disrespect our clan, which is most reasonable." He paused, then smiled "And as you have surely seen, she is not one to be on the bad side of."

Aang quickly asked a question. "What's an energy caster?"

Jyun answered as he led them to where the feast was. "It is a sacred, highly powerful weapon used only by the most skilled, honorable warriors of our tribe.:

"Do _you_ have one?" Aang asked.

"Yes, and I will show it to you later, but for now we eat, and then I will have you meet the chieftain. He will be most pleased to see you."

The group continued along, hungry, and curious about this secretive tribe.


	5. A Story of Trophies

The group, as well as all of the other warriors in the village, settled under a large pavilion with a hole on the roof. And under this hole roared a massive fire where a very large boarqupine roasted.

The scent made Sokka ravenous, drool flowing out of his mouth.

"Lemme have it!" he half screamed, surging forward slowly. "I haven't had-"

He hadn't finished his sentence when a muscular arm jerked him backwards into his seat. Sokka recognized him as Ryku'te, one of Jyun's close friends.

"Sit down." He ordered, a hint of warning in his voice. "The chieftain always gets first pick. Besides, you would piss off a lot of people if you barged in and ate half the whole goddamn village's food."

Sokka was frightened by Ryku'te's hostile attitude, but calmed down as he saw that the yautja was smiling as he said his last sentence.

"_These are the strangest people_." Sokka thought to himself. "_One minute they seem as though they are about to tear your head off, and the next they are all friendly and jokey and what not."_

Aang saw Jyun motion for him to come up to where he was, so he grabbed Sokka and Katara and met him.

He was standing near the fire with the enormous bounty of meat, and right next to a large chair, which sat on a pedestal, obviously for someone of great importance.

Aang was about to ask who, when suddenly the place went silent. Aang then saw an old man approaching them.

The man was very old, he could tell. But, just like King Bumi, he was incredibly fit for his age. His dreadlocks were gray, and he had a long beard of the same color. He wore a long scarlet red robe, detailed with some symbols that none of the trio recognized. He also wore a necklace that seemed to have_ bone_ dangling from it.

The entire village of people was silent, and all eyes were on the old man.

Sokka was getting impatient; his stomach rumbling so loud that Katara was sure the entire pavilion could hear it.

And finally, the chieftain spoke.

"Brothers, sisters, let us thank Lar'nix'va and his students for killing us this great feast." He motioned toward a group of warriors, who bowed proudly as the crowd cheered them. "As well as the great hunters of the other worlds for giving us their gift of their valor and skill, as well as some of their great weapons." The crowd continued cheering, many of them now looking upward toward the sky.

"'Hunters of other worlds'?" Sokka puzzled. "Okay, it's official, they're all insane. Let me just get my food and get out of here."

As Sokka thought, he looked around the room, and his mouth dropped open at what he saw, and was so focused on the food that he kicked himself for not noticing it when they first entered.

The pavilion also appeared to be a skull trophy room!

And these hunters were bagging some really big game.

Sokka noticed the skulls of Platypus Bears, Saber-tooth moose cats, Boarqupines, even… no it couldn't be.. ..A _Dragon_!

Sokka kept gazing around the room, more and more impressed by these people's hunting prowess, until he set his eyes upon an especially grotesque looking skull that he didn't recognize.

It looked almost like a giant insect, with two rows of dagger-like teeth and an eye socket-less face. The skull curved back and at the back its head fanned out lile a comb, or maybe even…

"a crown?" Sokka thought before Aang elbowed him in the side.

"And now, our youngest, finest elite warrior brings us the answer to the end of the great war, The Avatar!"

The place erupted in whoops and cheers as Aang bowed.

The chieftain signaled for the people to quiet down, and then he continued. "And with these thoughts in mind, Let us feast!"

As the crowd, including Sokka, went for the roasted pig, Aang and Katara stood by the chieftain and Jyun, with many questions in mind.

The chieftain embraced Jyun in a light hug. "It's good to see you, my pupil. How was your hunt?"

Jyun sighed, "Not very productive. As far as I can tell, all of the Fire Nation forces have left the forest."

The elderly hunter nodded. "I sense they will be back. And in greater numbers."

"If they return, they will not live long enough to regret it." Jyun sneered.

The chief smiled, and then looked at the Avatar. "It is an honor, young Avatar, to meet you at last."

The honor is all mine, Chieftain." Aang replied and bowed.

"Please, my name is Hakaru; don't hesitate to call me by my name." The chief said, obviously friendly. "Jyun tells me you have some questions for me. Please, ask away. Hopefully, with my old age, I can answer them."

Aang nodded, and asked the forefront question on his mind. "Why did you skin those firebenders?"

The chief blinked. "It is part of our culture, our history. How we were raised-"

"Yeah, _he_ told us that," Katara snapped, pointing at Jyun. "But what real motive did you have? How could you do something so horrible to someone, even if they're Fire Nation?"

Hakaru sighed. "Follow me." He ordered, and, grabbing a over-engorged Sokka, followed him and Jyun away from the feasting hall and into a darkened hut.

Once inside the hut, the trio gasped as they looked upon many strange items they found. Deadly looking spears and knives, strange, symbol etched objects, the same symbols that were on Hakaru's robe.

The chieftain motioned them toward a series of drawings. The drawings depicted men, fighting alongside the warriors that they had just met, only they appeared to be considerably larger than the men in the drawings.

They looked to be fighting some sort of big black bug-lizard with a disfigured banana for a head.

Hakaru spoke. "Four-hundred years ago, our tribe was a primitive, but strong group of people, isolated from the rest of the world. One day, a tremendous comet came and crashed to the earth. This comet turned out to be a vessel, one used by the yautja to traverse worlds other than our own."

Sokka stopped him. "Wait, who are the yautja if not you? You don't have any spaceships."

The chieftain smiled. "They came from another world, to hunt their game." He said, pointing at the black bugs in the painting. They call them _kahnde amedha… _Thehard meat."

Hakaru continued, " The creatures escaped off of the yautja ship, and we fought them, tooth and nail, losing many men. The yautja were impressed by our bravery and strength, and together, we were able to slay the hard meat, along with their matriarch, before they spread to take the whole world."

Jyun finally spoke up. "The yautja let us keep the head of the matriarch as a gift, along with training us in their way of combat, and giving us a few of their sacred weapons." He finished, brandishing a small cannon looking object perched on his left shoulder.

The group was fascinated by this story. "_Life from other planets? Here? That's incredible! Who would have ever thought_…"

Aang stopped when he remembered why he was here. "That was an interesting story, Hakaru, really, but doesn't explain your grotesque actions."

The chieftain nodded. "You see, the yautja are hunters, and they take the skulls of worthy kills they make, they are trophies. This can be with a deadly animal, or an adept bender, such as yourself or the firebenders." Hakaru paused, letting the concept sink in.

"We do not normally take trophies of other humans, nor do we hunt them. But in this special case, the fire nation came looking for a fight. And they all lost everything." The chief said coldly, and held up a mesh bag that was filled with human skulls.

Jyun also carried one, with even more skulls.

They all had Fire Nation insignias branded on their foreheads.

Aang slammed his staff down, angry. "This is wrong!" he shouted. "Making human beings trophies! What kind of sick men are you? And leaving no one alive? Do you have no sense of mercy?"

Jyun narrowed his eyes angrily. "That's easy for a damned _bender_ to say. Especially an air nomad!"

He growled, getting infuriated. "You can go into battle and not kill a single man, all you have to do is throw the around a little bit and they back off. That's not how it works for _real_ warriors. We have to get up close and get our hands dirty. We fight our enemies up close, with spears and blades. We can't just knock'em around, until they get scared or annoyed. No, we fight, a bloody, grisly death match where the objective is to survive. How do we complete our objective? We _kill_ the enemy. We spill their blood over our spear and we _like it!"_

"So do we have mercy? No, we were raised without that feeling, because mercy is reserved for ignorant, trusting fools and benders. Which are almost synonymous."

Jyun's rant ended, leaving the Gaang shaken.

"These guys are hardcore, no bullshit_ killers_." Sokka thought.

Aang called Appa down, and went back to gather the supplies the hunters had given them.

"Thank you for the knowledge and the supplies, Chief Hakaru." Aang said, and bowed, not looking at Jyun.

"The pleasure was all mine, Avatar. Good luck on your quest. I have great hopes that the Firelord will be defeated at your hands." Aang smiled, thanked him again, and jumped on Appa.

He took one last look at Jyun, who still had a serious expression on his face. "The fire nation don't deserve mercy," the hunter fumed in his mind. "They slaughter innocent women and children every day, and sweep across the world like a plague. They show no mercy, so they shall receive none from us."

Aang said good bye to the crowd, and took off on Appa.

"I'm happy to be out of there," Katara said, looking back at the village, " people that actually enjoy killing… It's just, sick!"

"I know what you mean," Aang replied. "The monks always told me that causing death was an extreme measure and was never to be used. I didn't realize that there could be people so ruthless out there."

"Yeah…" Sokka started to agree, "But they have really good food. Aang rolled his eyes, and had just crossed a wall of mountains when he saw a large group of men in dark red uniforms heading the opposite direction.

Fire Nation soldiers.

A lot of them.

With Tanks.

Heading directly toward the Yautja village.


	6. Fearless

Hakaru had turned around to try and speak to Jyun, who was still perturbed by the Avatar's judgment of their way, when he heard a familiar low bellow from above.

He turned, just to see Aang's flying bison coming down to land.

The Avatar jumped down from Appa, a serious, anxious expression on his face.

"Kill the firelord already?" The chieftain asked, only half joking. "You are more powerful than-"

Aang quickly cut him off. "A fire nation army is headed this way!"

A few of the other hunters heard what the Avatar had said, including Jyun, and they were all listening intently.

"Go on." Hakaru instructed.

Sokka jumped down, ready to explain his idea as to what they should do. "A large fire nation army is headed through the forest directly to the village-_your_ village." "There are too many for you to fight, so you should evac-"

Sokka was cut off by the booming laughter of the surrounding yautja. "Surrender?" one asked, incredulous. "To those dogs? I would rather fall on my own spear."

Jyun nodded in agreement. "Why would we give up a fight that we have basically already won?"

Aang stared, open mouthed. "You can't stand and fight them! They outnumber you, three to one at least!"

"Yeah," Katara chimed in "If you stayed you could be overwhelmed, and the people in your village…"

She stopped. She didn't want to think about what the Fire Nation would do to all of those innocent people, like they did to her mother.

"Numbers don't matter. We are fighting in our forest, with the weapons and training of the yautja. We won't be defeated!" Jyun exclaimed, and the others growled in agreement.

Sokka thought, "But all of those Fire Nation soldiers… "

Jyun stepped closer "Yes, that's all they are, _soldiers_…" He turned, pacing. "Paid to fight for their country, all trained the same way: enlist when they are sixteen, take simple weapon and combat technique classes, and test their mettle on civilians, defeating opposing armies by outnumbering them ten to one." He finished, and then stood atop a tree stump so he could be seen by all.

"Yautja!" he called, and everyone in the village looked to him.

"A fire Nation army marches towards us, seeking to destroy the warriors, and enslave the women and children."

Jyun stopped to see their faces. None of them wore the face of fear, or panic. Instead, they wore expressions of bravery, and an eagerness to fight.

Jyun resumed, "They will not make it this far. We will engage them before they get here, and we will make them wish they had never heard of the yautja."

"How? Because we are _warriors!_" He yelled, the crowd bristling at his words. "Ever since we were born, we have been trained for battle. Baptized in the fires of combat. We fight ruthlessly, to the last man, and we take no prisoners, no survivors!"

"Together brothers, we will destroy our invaders, and make them feel true fear! They will taste the steel of our spears and the might of our blades! The last thing they will see is the ferocity of the world's deadliest warriors, and it will follow them into hell and haunt them for all eternity!"

"Brothers… sharpen your blades and ready your armor, for tomorrow.. We Fight!"

At the last phrase, the yautja all let loose bloodcurdling howls, screams begging for blood. Jyun started to chant the Kiss of Midnight, and soon had the entire village, with spears raised, singing it with him.

He felt the adrenaline surge through him. "_Oh yes_," he thought "_fire benders will_ die_ tomorrow_."

The trio looked on, open mouthed, and utterly surprised. They were going to fight a fire nation army that outnumbered them drastically, and took pleasure in the fact that blood would be shed?

These people disturbed Aang more than thought humanly possible. And as he saw the yautja dancing with their spears, he suddenly felt very sorry for the Firebenders who would face them in battle.


	7. The Truth About War

It was dawn. The orange light of the morning sun had barely started to peak over the mountains in the distance. The depths of the forest were covered in a thick, hazy fog.

Jyun didn't need the fog. Neither did the five other elite warriors. The ones proven in hunting and combat, their prowess unmatched. Jyun was the youngest to ever receive this honor, as well as one of the only six sacred yautja armor suits.

The other warriors, just below their rank, not receiving their gifts, wore armor made of earth-steel, designed like the armor of their extra-terrestrial mentors. Their spears were in fact made the same way.

The elite warriors, however, wore the armor _actually worn_ by the real yautja. Armor made from the hide of the _kainde amedha_, as well as other, non-earthly alloys.

The material was only a fraction of what wondrous things this armor had to offer. He didn't need the fog to disguise him. Because no human eyes could see him.

The armor made the wearer _invisible_. It was quite handy for ambushes and espionage.

Currently, ambush was the plan. For the other warriors not wearing the sacred armor awaited in the brush below, waiting for the signal to strike the opposing force at the command of the elites. And just because they didn't hold as high of a title, didn't mean they weren't as skilled. For instance, Nakita wasn't an elite. But jyun, as well as several other honored warriors, openly admitted that she could probably best them in a fight, one handed.

These things ran through Jyun's mind before one of the other elites, also hiding in the trees, invisible, flashed him a signal, noting that the enemy was near.

"Good," he thought. "Now the fun shall begin."

The Gaang sat, higher and farther away from the site where the battle was to take place, wanting to stay out of the way of the carnage. Usually, it was them fending off firebenders and defending the innocent people they threatened. It felt strange to be far off, letting more experienced warriors fighting.

The yautja's fighting force was small; only about two-hundred men in all. The Fire Nation army, in terms of armies, wasn't exceptionally large, either, only about six-hundred men, with a squad of twelve tanks.

The hunters were still badly outnumbered, but that didn't matter to them. They believed they could defeat them no-matter how long the odds.

Aang, for one seemed to believe them. For as long as their history goes, even before the alien yautja came to Earth, their culture had been centered on warfare. They fought mercilessly, but efficiently. They never showed fear, never surrendered.

And most of all: They left no survivors.

It was startling, to Aang, how much his own culture and that of the yautja's contrasted.

For the Air Nomads, killing was evil, wrong, and never to be done to another living thing. For the yautja, it was part of who they were. The Airbenders never took part in violence. But the Yautja reveled in it.

For these reasons, Aang was perturbed, but intrigued by their culture. He did find things like this interesting.

Katara shared his interest, but was slightly more cautious around them. To her, they were wild, and somewhat barbaric. Death was something sad and painful. Causing it would make you feel the same way, in her opinion.

Apparently, in her view, they were too animalistic to feel this way.

Sokka wasn't impressed by the yautja, or if he was, he was hiding it. The hunters were supposedly the greatest warriors on the planet. Sokka disagreed, believing that the warriors of the Southern Water tribe were the greatest. He was also somewhat offended with what Jyun had said about soldiers. His father was a soldier, and he was an excellent fighter.

Oh well, he didn't want to get on the bad side of the yautja. Besides, he had never seen them _really_ fight.

He would be in for a treat…

What sounded like a low hum at first had grown into the sounds of grinding metal and machinery.

"Tanks." Thought Jyun. "They obviously aren't trying to be stealthy."

Twelve of the large, ungainly, slow moving vehicles rolled alongside the Fire Nation soldiers. They were split up into three platoons, each consisting of two-hundred men. Their formation was defensive: Spearmen outward, surrounding the firebenders in the center. In the very middle of these platoons was a leader, riding a rhino-lizard.

But the commander of the entire army was quick to make himself known.

Aside from riding the biggest rhino and being in the center squad, he shouted orders and threatened the men under him to stay in formation. Once one of the spearmen was slow to get in line, and he bended a whip made of fire and lashed him with it.

This commander was arrogant and ruled with fear, not loyalty and respect. So the solution was simple: Make the soldiers fear the yautja more than they feared him.

A most easy-and fun- task.

As the army came into full view, the cheiftain signaled an order through the trees. 

"Aim for the firebenders in the center. Leave the commander, for now."

Jyun understood why. What fun would it be if they killed him before they saw the look on his face as he watched his men get slaughtered before him, and he realized that he would not make it out alive?

That's just good ol' sick twisted entertainment, right there.

Jyun marked his target, the leader in the rhino furthest from him, and the small cannon perched atop his shoulder became active as the red triangle n the mask's eyes focused on its target.

This cannon was perhaps the most deadly weapon in the hunter's arsenal. Like the sacred armor, the cannons were only used by the elite warriors. But it didn't take many to cause a lot of damage.

What the weapon fired was beyond them, some speculated that it fired raw, heated energy of some sort, which seemed believable. Jyun didn't question. He was just glad to have it.

Another great thing was its incredible accuracy. It was somehow linked to the mask to where the gun would follow your eyes. Where ever he looked, it would fire, making it nearly impossible to miss.

As the targeting rectile closed on his victim, he and the other hunters awaited the best moment, when the army would be right in their ambush zone.

"Now!" the chieftain commanded, and half a dozen blue beams of energy leapt from the trees.

Jyun's target barely had time to react before a hole was blown through his chest. He looked down, eyes wide, and tried to touch the edges of the gaping wound, before he collapsed off of his steed. The other yautja had hit their marks too, and they all fired again at the firebenders.

The opposing army was starting to panic, ready to bolt back the way they came, when the commander sent a ring of fire into the trees and around his forces.

'Back in line, you cowards!" the commander ordered. "If they wish to stay in the trees, than we will burn the whole damned forest down!"

Before they got set on this task, however, a sound caused them to halt and listen.

It was the sound of battle cries, emanating from the woods around them. Hundreds of cries, all joined into one.

And then, they saw the demons. They looked like shadows, running towards them from the mist, dreadlocks bouncing as they ran. They saw their armor, the cold, black eyes of their masks, bodies covered in crimson and black war paint.

The Fire Nation loyalists felt chills run up their spines, as fear surged in their bodies, and they knew they were doomed.

The commander seemed oblivious to this fact and ordered his spearmen into defensive positions. They all lowered their weapons towards their attackers, ready for the slaughter to come.

The commander smiled slightly, thinking they would all just run into the wall of spears.

Wrong.

His smile faded as the hunters leapt over and under the spears, bringing their own up and into the chests and throats of his infantry.

Before he even had time to react, his first line if spearmen had been gutted, and they were working on the second. He fired a blast of fire at one of the savages, but it was too quick and danced away to kill more of his men.

As the commander looked around, he saw the same scene everywhere.

Death.

Blood.

Screaming.

All of it his soldiers'.

As he watched the slaughter, a wave of nausea hit as a though struck him like lightning; He wasn't going home today.

Jyun watched the ongoing battle from the trees briefly before he leapt down, extending his spear. He came down in front of a large soldier carrying an even larger berserker sword.

The large warrior, startled, stepped back slightly, then roared as he charged, bringing his enormous weapon to bear.

Jyun was too fast, and dropped low, bringing his spear into his foe's abdomen. His opponent gasped in pain and surprise, and staggered back slightly, staring at the long stick that had bore its way inside him.

Jyun quickly removed his spear from the slowly dying man, and brought the finishing thrust-sending the spear straight into the soldier's still gaping mouth, the end coming out the back of his head.

He removed his spear, and was quickly dodged a series of fireballs from a disgruntled firebender.

The firebender was apparently feeling cocky, as he formed a small dagger made of flame and charged the yautja.

A foolish move indeed. He didn't live long enough to regret it, and was dead before he could reflect upon it. His last sight was filled with watching the impossibly agile hunter bring the spear around through his neck, and watching his own blood spray out like a geyser.

Jyun turned to see another fire bender ready a fire ball.

He responded by throwing his spear at him, javelin style, and whooped in delight as it went straight through the bastard's chest, pinning him to the tree behind him.

"Stick Around." He told the dead firebender, and ran off into the battle, to search for more carnage and glory.

The trio watched the battle from the treetops, both awed and horrified. The way the yautja fought, it wasn't just battle, it was like a deadly, blood-stained dance. The gracefully moved with their with their spears, twisting and dodging out of the way of enemy blades and fire, and killing many a lot of Fire Nation soldiers in the process.

That was the horrifying part.

None of them had ever seen death on such a scale, and hadn't imagined it to be so gruesome.

Aang was pale and look like he might be sick, Katara had buried her face in her hands, not able to stand the bloody scene below them, and Sokka, watched, almost mesmerized, and a realization struck him.

"_This is why my father wouldn't let me come to fight with him. He didn't want me to see what war was really like_."

What was going on below them wasn't war though. It was_ slaughter_.

In only ten minutes, the hunters had driven the Fire Nation army's number to roughly half of what it was at the beginning. Some soldiers tried to regroup, others fought in a panic, and some had dropped their weapons completely and begged for mercy.

The yautja did not know the meaning of the word, for the swept through the army and butchered everything wearing the Fire Nation emblem.

Then a familiar noise returned. A sound of loud, moving machinery.

The tanks had come back. And with them, so had the soldiers' confidence, and they surged back into action, renewed vigor from their iron allies. The tanks sent large fire balls into the battle, burning all that stood in their way.

Most of the yautja got out of the way in time, but a few unlucky ones got caught in the flames, and their armor wasn't like that of the elite warriors, and the fire made the metal searing hot, torching the skin of the unfortunate warriors.

For a moment, it seemed as though the Fire Nation had gotten the upper hand.

But they forgot about the hunter's 'special weapons'.

Jyun sighted the tank nearest him and looked into the cockpit, his red triangle pinpointing exactly where the target sat. Then, he opened fire, and the blue bolt flew into the cockpit, the pilot's head exploding in crimson mist and bits of brain and bone. The other yautja followed his example, and soon all of the tanks were disabled.

And the Fire Nation army's confidence left as quickly as it had arrived, and many started panicking again.

But, what Jyun caught as most disgraceful, was the commander, who was busy running away from the grisly scene, hoping to save his own skin, instead of doing the honorable thing and dying with his troops.

Then again, this was the Fire Nation they were talking about here. He doubted they even knew what honor and courage and valor were.

Jyun targeted the rhino he was riding, and pulled out a black disc, slightly larger than a human hand. He then drew back and threw the disc, and it flew in a perfectly straight line and cut right through the rhino's right rear leg. The beast roared in pain and fell sideways, throwing its rider off onto the ground.

The commander got up, and saw the approaching hunter. He panicked, and tried to run away.

"Coward," Jyun hissed to himself. 'I will end his terror _permanently_."

Jyun grabbed the disc as it flew back to him, like a super-intelligent boomerang, and tossed it at the commander, completely severing his right leg.

The commander howled in pain and fell to the ground, blood spouting from the useless stump.

His eyes widened as the hunter approached him, spear drawn.

"Please…" the pathetic commander whimpered. "_Have Mercy_!"

Jyun responded in a cold, dark tone, "Why is it that men who ask for mercy…" he paused, and took something out of the rhino's saddlebag that had caught his eye. It was a girl's doll, and it was blackened from fire and covered in ash.

"…never give it." And he brought the spear down into the bleeding commander's neck, hitting the jugular precisely.

He would die slowly, which was good. Jyun wanted him to know he was dying.

The commander clutched at his throat, trying to stop the fountain of blood, his chokes mixed with sobs as blood sprouted from his mouth. Suddenly he stopped choking, and the life slowly faded from his eyes. He twitched slightly, and finally died.

Jyun sighed, his work complete, and turned to check on the progress of the battle.

Never show mercy, and never ask for any, for you shall receive none. That was their way. And he stuck to it, and it had helped him survive battles with monstrous creatures as well as enemy warriors.

And he hoped, when the time came, that the Avatar would do the same.

Aang had leapt to the ground to observe the scene. And he almost wanted to cry.

Dead, mutilated bodies all around. Many were young men with eyes still open, faces twisted with pain and terror.

Katara stood beside him, sobbing lightly. Men weren't supposed to die like this. Even Fire Nation.

Sokka stood beside her, shocked and seemingly dazed by the hellish scene around him. He hadn't anticipated war to be so… gruesome. He couldn't imagine how his father dealt with it.

And at this thought, he silently thanked him for making him stay behind when he left with the other water-tribe warriors.

He had never realized, until now: War is Hell.


	8. Epiphany

The battle was over, all of the remaining resistance had been dealt with. Now , there was just one matter left to attend to: prisoners.

Two-dozen of the men had dropped their weapons and surrendered. These men all sat on thei knees in a straight line, a yautja with a spear behind each one, waiting for the order to get rid of the survivors.

Jyun was about to give it, when a familiar voice shouted at him to stop. The Avatar's, of course.

Aang and his friends had seen what the hunters were about to do, and _had_ to stop it. There had been enough- possibly too much-bloodshed for today. Killing unarmed prisoners was unacceptable in his, and even in Sokka's and Katara's eyes.

"Stop, there has been enough death today. What good will come of killing these prisoners?"

"Yeah," Katara joined in. "We don't like the Fire Nation either, but look at these men." She said, motioning to the terrified, hopeless faces of the remaining soldiers. "They couldn't harm anyone even if they wanted to now. Why kill them?"

Jyun was getting annoyed. Yes he was the Avatar, protector of the peace, blah blah blah, he got it.

But he had become annoyed with him trying to step all over his tribe's customs, when a completely different, but even more familiar voice spoke up.

"Listen to them, Jyun."

Chief Hakaru.

"These soldiers are tired and broken. They present no threat to us, or anyone anymore. It's wise to let them go."

Jyun was stunned by the chieftain's words. How could he do this? No one ever survived a battle with the yautja, even if-

He stopped to look at the faces of the broken men. They had no fight left. They were terrified, and only wanted to stop fighting and go home.

Jyun made his decision. "Go now,' he quietly ordered the soldiers. "Live, for your life will be purer and more cherished for your terror here."

The soldiers looked at him and at each other, wondering if it was a trick.

Jyun barked "Go, before I change my mind!"

The soldiers, the command sinking in, got up and ran away, into the forest, not looking back.

Jyun sighed, hoping that move would't come back to bite him in the ass.

Hakaru smiled and placed a reassuring hand on Jyun's shoulder.

"You did the right thing. The _noble_ thing." Jyun nodded and looked at the Avatar. Aang smiled at him, noting his good decision. Jyun nodded back, and slowly walked back to camp, contemplating what he would do now.

Hakaru walked up to the Avatar, mask off. "Thank you for warning us about the invading army. If we hadn't known about their approach, the death toll could have been catastrophic."

"I'm glad I could help, it is my job." Aang replied, sheepish grin on his face.

Sokka was admiring the chief's armor, which was mor elaborate than the other hunter's, probably because of his rank.

But there was one decoration he found strange to be on such a skilled warrior's armor:

A White Lotus symbol.

He found it odd that the leader of a village of warriors would have that painted on his armor.

Oh well, he was old, and old people liked pai-sho.

Besides, King Bumi likes white Lotus's too…

Jyun walked slowly back to his camp, confused, not knowing why he felt so strange to let someone survive.

As he walked, Nakita caught up to him.

"Hey handsome," she teased, how many kills you mount?

He shrugged, "Mid thirties."

She nodded. "Not bad. Are you okay? You look…"

He turned to look at her, his eyes unfocused. She could tell he was thinking about something.

"…confused."

Jyun nodded. After letting those soldiers live, I felt out of place, like I had done something wrong. And now I feel like I need to something to redeem myself.

"Well, give me a minute to slip out of this armor, and we can do something that will take your mind off of things." Her eyes narrowed, a playful expression on her face. It wasn't a bad idea. Her strength and flexibitity made her… 'exciting' in the bedroom to say the least."

It was kind of funny, how she had just gotten done taking a Fire Nation blood-bath, and she was already in the mood.

He smiled back at her, intrigued, and leaned in to kiss her, when he spied the Avatar and his friends boarding their flying bison.

That's when the realization struck him. That's when he knew what he had to do. He didn't want to sit out of this war any longer, waiting for firebenders to show up. He wanted to bring the fight to them.

And what a better way to do that than alongside the man whose destiny is to defeat the Firelord.

He was going to join the Avatar.

**Author's note: This is where the story really kicks off. These first eight chapters have really been a prelude to what will happen in the rest of the story. I plan to have it go through all of the seasons, with Jyun as a part of the Gaang. I hope you enjoy, and please, r & r. –V.S.**


	9. The Hunt Begins

**So this is where the actual story we all know and love begins. It starts off on the Blue Spirit episode in book one. Hope you enjoy! V.S.**

Katara gently dabbed a damp rag on Sokka's head, trying to cool him off and soak up some of the sweat. He had become very ill after being caught in a huge storm a couple days before. Jyun had been there to help Aang and Katara save him and the sailor he had fished with.

Jyun had been traveling with the Gaang for about a week now. It took some convincing for everyone to accept him, but they needed all the help they could get for fighting the Fire Nation, and Jyun, brutal as he was, was a damn good fighter, and was good at other things as well. He was a much better hunter than Sokka (though Sokka won't admit it) and they always had a good meal every evening. He was very entertaining as well, for he told the most incredible stories, ones none of them believed to be true, especially Sokka, until he had shown them the scars to prove it.

He was also very wise and thoughtful. When Aang had told them that he had run from the Air Temple after he received news that he was the Avatar, Jyun didn't accuse him of turning his back on the world as many people have done, he simply nodded and reassuringly told him, "I cannot blame you for what you did. It is hard to imagine being so young and having the fate of the world on your shoulders, most people don't understand. I believe that there is a reason you met Sokka and Katara, as well as I, and I can honestly say that for once, I'm pretty damn happy about what we've been dealt so far."

Sokka laughed aloud in his delirium. "Ha! You're hilarious Appa!"

"He sure is." Katara fake agreed, before she started coughing as well.

"Not you too!" Aang groaned. "That's exactly how Sokka started, now look at him!"

Jyun nodded in agreement. "You'll end up like him before long."

"Please guys, I'm fine…" she told them reassuringly before stumbling backwards onto Appa.

"Jyun went toward her and placed a hand on her forehead. He whistled in amazement at what he felt. "Yeah, she's on fire. This is too extreme to just try and wait out, Aang. They need a healer, or some medicine."

Aang nodded. Jyun was a good medic when it came to flesh wounds, but viruses were another story. "I thought I saw a greenhouse when we flew over those mountains. I'll see if I can go get some herbs.

Jyun nodded. "I'll stay here and tend to them. You better hurry, they are getting worse by the minute."

Aang hadn't even heard him finish his sentence. With the help of his airbending he sprinted off faster than thought humanly possible to find his two friends some help.

_Meanwhile…_

The newly promoted Admiral Zhao had taken advantage of his authority, and was putting his most dangerous men into action: The Yu Yan Archers.

These archers were the most deadly and precise soldiers in the world, meaning they were the only choice for the task that was to be completed.

"As many of you know, the Avatar has returned." Zhao started, pacing in front of the archers. All of them stood statue-still.

What you don't know, is that he is very near…so close, in fact, that we got a report from one of our watchtowers in the hills saying he flew right past them, and he seems to be in a hurry."

"I want you men, to impede his progress. I want him alive so I can deliver him to the Fire Lord, and you will be rewarded handsomely for your work."

The admiral gave them a map with where the Avatar was last seen, as well as guesses to where he might be now, drawn onto it, and the Yu Yan started to depart.

He held up the last four archers. "You four will be tasked with finding and dealing with his friends. I want them to be disposed of…_permanently_." He grinned evilly at this last word. He had been promoted, and now he was about to bag the Avatar.

It was going to be a _very_ good day.

Something was wrong. Jyun could feel it. Aang should have been back hours ago, it couldn't possibly take this damn long…

Katara hacked loudly, bringing the hunter back into focus. He turned around and walked towards her, pretending not to have anything on his mind.

'How are you feelin'?" Jyun asked sarcastically. He knew that Sokka and Katara's condition had worsened, but it was best to keep the mood light.

She groaned, "Like something Appa spat out." She motioned for the water. Jyun picked up the bloat, and cursed at it being so light.

"Shit, it's empty." The nearest river was nearly four miles away, and he didn't want to leave them alone…

Katara hacked again, sounding even sicker, and Sokka shivered, cold sweat running down his forehead.

If they didn't get any water, they would both die of dehydration. And Aang would not be very pleased at that.

Jyun stood up. "I'm gonna go and get you two some water. I'll be back as soon as possible." He turned to run off, then stopped and turned back slightly.

"Don't go anywhere."

Jyun had a smart-ass attitude, and liked to use it around the Gaang, especially Katara, since she always got all mad and red in the face when insulted. Though she was too weak to do anything now, she merely nodded and rolled over, trying to get some rest.

Jyun sighed, then took off down the hill towards the river.

About half an hour later, thank to his incredible cardio-respiratory endurance, he arrived at the river barely winded. In fact, he could probably run all the way back too…

As Jyun stooped to fill the bloat with water, something rustled in the trees behind him.

He froze, trying to listen. It rustled again, and Jyun tried to dissect the noise.

It was much too big for any type of bird. A mammal? No, still too big, at least for tree dwelling mammals. Jyun slowly turned his head, and as he did, he heard the sound of wood bending backwards, in a sound he knew all too well. He then quickly twisted around, just in time to see an arrow fly straight towards his face.

He bent backwards, and the arrow flew centimeters over his mask.

He came back up to see another arrow coming towards him. He decided to show these assholes who they were dealing with. He watched the arrow come towards him, and at the last second he brought up his hand-

And _caught _the arrow one-handed.

He growled low, and aimed his shoulder cannon at his assailant.

There was a _thump_ as the blue ball of energy leapt from the canon, and blew the archer in half. The others were now moving away in the treetops, and from the looks of it, trying to lead him into a trap.

And he did love springing traps.

Jyun flicked his wrists, and a pair of blades came from the gauntlets he wore on each wrist. He then ran and leapt into the tree nearest him, and pursued his attackers.

These men were skilled, that much he could tell. They moved quickly deftly, never making a misstep in the trees.

The hunter was better, though. He had been scaling and navigating through the canopies of trees since he was five. This all came by instinct to him.

As he caught up to them, he could see the details of his new enemies. They were clearly archers; that much he had expected.

And they were clearly Fire Nation. This made Jyun want to kill them _even more_.

He sighted another one of the archers, and quickly opened fire.

The archer tried to dodge to the right, but was too slow and lost his leg. The archer howled in pain as he tripped, almost falling out of the canopy.

But not before Jyun swept his claws through the falling man's back, ending his pain permanently.

The remaining three split up: two veering off and the other going straight.

The one to his left pulled out a short sword as he swung around to meet him. Jyun grabbed his arm and slammed him into a tree, then twisted until he heard a satisfying_ crack_.

The archer screamed in pain for a moment, and then Jyun shoved his wristblades through the back of the man's head.

Jyun then swiftly withdrew his blades from the head of his felled opponent, and turned: just in time to barely dodge an incoming arrow.

The arrow flew by, grazing his mask. Jyun drew his smart disc and threw it perfectly straight through the archer's neck.

The disc continued to fly, and Jyun was close to hitting the symbol on his wrist-bracer to make it return-

Before an intense pain shot through his back.

He roared in pain as he fell to one knee. He had forgotten about the fifth archer.

"Dammit," he cursed to himself. "How did I forget-"

His thoughts were interrupted by another burst of pain from his back, this one was lower, and more toward the right of his body. He figured out where the first arrow hit- mere centimeters from his spine.

Jyun used the reflection off of his wrist blades to see where his assailant was. He was right behind him, readying another arrow.

Jyun growled low, and attempted to stand up and turn to face the archer. He had fought honorably, and the hunter would be damned if he didn't die facing his killer.

Just as he was about to stand, however, he heard a familiar low hum coming towards him. Jyun ducked low, and heard the disc fly over him. He then heard the familiar sound of flesh being cut, and turned to see the condition of his foe.

The archer's face was contorted with confusion and surprise, just before the upper half of his body toppled off its legs, which stood for a moment, still spewing blood, before finally collapsing.

Jyun looked around, satisfied with his work, and breathed deeply before reaching behind his back and yanking the first arrow out. He winced in pain as he pulled, and then looked at the projectile.

It was barbed, which explained the pain it caused when he pulled it out. He then pulled out the second arrow, and went back to the river to finish his task.

When Jyun got back to the ruins where the Gaang was staying at, he swore when he realized that Aang wasn't back. Sokka and Katara needed medicine immediately, not to mention the fact that there were bound to be more Fire Nation soldiers coming to visit them. This is something that he normally wouldn't have worried about, and even anticipated, but ti was different having to defend a pair of sick from the Water Tribe.

A few moments later, though, the universe gave the Gaang a break, and Aang walked through the doorway.

Somehing had indeed happened to him His clothes were torn, he had a few cuts and bruises, and he looked very exhausted.

Aang walked over to Sokka and Katara and stuck what Jyun figured to be ice cubes into both of their mouths and told them to suck on them.

Jyun nodded in greeting at Aang, figuring he would keep exchanges short and let the Avatar rest. When he turned around, Aang noticed the bloody wounds on the hunter's back.

"What happened?" Aang asked, steadily nodding off to sleep.

Jyun turned to face the Avatar, who was sprawled out on Appa. "I went to get dumb and dumber here some water and made some new friends out in the woods." He replied, nonchalantly. "We played Arrow tag. I won."

"What about you Aang?" Sokka inquired, mouth stuffed with what Jyun could now see was some sort of small animal encased in ice. "Did you make any new friends on your trip?"

Aang sighed. "No, I don't think I did." Then he rolled over and fell asleep.

Admiral Zhao's day had just turned to shit. He had just lost the Avatar, and now he had apparently just lost five Yu Yan to a pair of water tribe peasants.

"How is that even possible?" Zhao roared as he paced, infuriated with even more bad news. 'They're just children, and the Yu Yan are undefeatable. How in the hell-"

Sir, one of his guards spoke up.

The Admiral looked up, still enraged. This had better be very damn important.

"Sir, I have a soldier here to see you. He says he's a survivor of the assault on the so called 'Demon's Forest'.

Zhao's expression turned surprised. No one had ever survived going into that forest. How did this one survive? Zhao sat down. "Let him in." he ordered.

The soldier came in. He was young, probably in his early twenties. He seemed very nervous, traumatized almost.

"Well," Zhao started, "Tell me what happened."

And the soldier told a most horrific, but splendidly vivid, war story.

Zhao's eyes were wide. He had heard stories of these 'trophy demons', but he figured they were just myths made to scare recruits. But they were real, and apparently _very_ dangerous.

But that wasn't the part that Zhao was especially concerned about.

What concerned him was what the soldier had seen _after_ the battle.

Apparently, after sticking around and spying on the yautja for a while, he witnessed a very interesting event.

A yautja had joined the Avatar. This explained his dead Yu Yan.

Zhao's frown slowly returned to a smile. If he could hand over both the Avatar _and_ this hunter, the rewards would be unimaginable.

Zhao leaned back in his chair. He ordered the soldier to leave his tent, then gave the order to one of the guards to make sure he was silenced. He wanted to be the only one to know of this at the moment.

Perhaps, this wasn't such a bad day after all.


End file.
